UC-NRLF 


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THE  PEQTJOT  INDIANS. 


AN   HISTORICAL   SKETCH. 


BY  RICHARD  A.  WHEELER. 


W  i 


THE  PEQUOT  INDIANS 

AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


BY  RICHARD  A.  WHEELER. 


The  origin  of  the  Pequot  tribe  of  Indians  must  forever  remain  a 
mystery.  Some  writers  have  supposed  that  not  long  before  this 
country  was  settled  by  Europeans  they  were  an  inland  tribe,  who, 
by  their  superior  numbers  and  prowess,  fought  their  way  !o  the 
seaside,  and  established  their  fortresses  in  what  is  now  the  town 
of  Groton.  Others  have  supposed  that  they  belonged  to  the  Mo- 
hegan  tribe  of  Indians,  who,  under  the  leadership  of  Pequoate,  the 
father  of  Sassacus,  seceded  from  the  Mohegans,  and  established  an 
independent  tribe,  taking  the  name  of  their  Sachem,  and  in  time 
overwhelmed  the  Mohegans,  and  held  them  as  tributaries. 

Not  satisfied  with  their  success,  they  sought  to  establish  their 
dominion  over  the  surrounding  tribes  ;  and  had  so  far  succeeded 
as  to  extend  their  power  and  authority  eastward  to  Wecapaug  in 
Westerly,  Ehode  Island,  where  they  were  met  and  held  in  check 
by  the  powerful  tribe  of  Narragansett  Indians ;  southward  they 
extended  their  sway  to,  and  in  some  places  beyond,  the  Connecti 
cut  river,  and  as  far  north  as  the  town  of  Windsor.  When  these 
events  transpired  cannot  now  be  determined,  or  whether  they  ever 
happened  as  here  narrated  is  not  certainly  known  ;  but  this  we  do 
know,  that  when  Adrian  Block,  a  Dutch  navigator,  explored  our 
sea  coast  in  1614,  the  Pequot  and  Mohegan  Indians  were  located 
in  the  same  places  that  they  occupied  in  1633,  when  our  State  was 
first  settled  by  the  English. 

The  Pequots  were  governed  by  a  powerful  Sachem,  whom  they 
idolized  and  regarded  "  as  all  one  God."  Under  his  leadership 
they  had  become  a  terror  to  the  neighboring  tribes,  with  whom 
they  had  frequently  been  engaged  in  deadly  hostilities. 

The  various  tribes  and  clans  tributary  to  the  Pequots  hailed  the 
coming  of  the  white  man  as  an  omen  that  foreshadowed  their  re 
lease  from  the  tyranny  of  Sassacus.  The  Connecticut  river  In 
dians  made  the  first  effort  to  secure  an  alliance  with  the  Massachu 
setts  and  Plymouth  colonies. 

In  the  year  1631,  an  Indian  Sachem  by  the  name  of  Wah-qui-ma- 
cut  visited  the  Governors  of  the  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  colo 
nies,  and  offered  them  strong  inducements  to  come  and  settle  in 

M149817 


.•:.-.;;:;      './•/*:  2 

the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and  proposed  that  two  men 
should  be  delegated  to  view  the  country  and  report  to  the  Govern 
ors.  Gov.  Winthrop  declined  the  offer ;  but  Governor  Winslow, 
of  Plymouth,  held  the  matter  under  consideration,  and  soon  after 
visited  the  place,  and  on  his  return  home  gave  a  glowing  descrip 
tion  of  its  fertility,  which  tempted  many  a  Puritan  to  leave  his 
sterile  home  at  Plymouth  and  explore  this  Indian  paradise  from 
the  mouth  of  the  river  far  back  towards  its  sources. 

Meantime  the  shrewd  and  active  Pequots  were  watching  with 
sleepless  vigilance  the  movements  of  the  Plymouth  people,  doubt 
less  foreseeing  the  danger  that  would  result  to  them  from  a  settle 
ment  of  the  English  upon  the  Connecticut  river,  and  sought  to 
counteract  and  prevent  it  by  an  alliance  with  the  Dutch.  For  as 
early  as  1632  they  sold  lands  at  Saybrook  to  the  Dutch  .  Governor 
at  New  Amsterdam,  and  in  June,  1633,  Wa-py-quart,  a  Pequot  Sa 
chem,  sold  to  the  West  India  Company,  through  their  agent  Van 
Culer,  a  tract  of  meadow  land  now  covered  by  the  city  of  Hartford, 
on  which  h©  immediately  proceeded  to  erected  a  fort,  which  he 
called  the  "House  of  Good  Hope." 

During  the  month  of  September,  1633,  John  Oldham,  with  sev 
eral  others  of  the  Dorchester  plantation,  visited  Connecticut,  and 
were  kindly  received  by  the  native  chiefs,  who  gave  them  some 
valuable  presents  of  Indian  hemp  and  beaver  skins.  During  this 
year  the  Plymouth  people  formed  a  trading  company,  and  sent 
William  Holmes  in  October  to  erect  a  trading  house  at  a  place  pre 
viously  selected  on  the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut  river,  just  be 
low  the  mouth  of  the  Farmington,  or  Tunxis  river,  in  the  present 
town  of  Windsor.  Captain  Holmes  reached  the  Connecticut  river 
in  safety,  and  sailed  up  the  same,  and  passed  the  Dutch  fort  at 
Hartford  in  proud  defiance,  and  erected  the  house  at  the  place  de 
signated,  and  with  the  utmost  haste  surrounded  it  with  palizadoes. 
He  carried  back  to  their  native  place  Attawanott  and  several  other 
Indian  Sachems,  who  had  been  driven  away  by  the  warlike  Pequots, 
and  of  whom  the  Plymouth  people  purchased  the  land.  The  Dutch 
fort  at  Hartford  was  a  harmless  affair,  and  soon  ceased  to  exist  as 
such. 

The  Dutch  Arms  at  Saybrook  were  torn  down  by  the  English  in 
1634,  and  replaced  with  a  fool's  head.  Thus  ended  practically  the 
power  of  the  Dutch  in  Connecticut,  and  the  hopes  of  the  haughty 
Pequots  in  that  direction  were  blasted  forever.  But  they  were  so 
incensed  at  Holmes  for  bringing  back  Attawanott  and  his  Sachems 
to  Windsor,  that  they  kept  him  and  the  friendly  Indians  continual 
ly  on  the  defensive,  and  at  every  opportunity  attacked  the  English 
settlers,  and  murdered  such  as  they  could  lay  their  hands  on. 

In  1633,  as  two  English  traders,  viz.  Captain  Stone  and  Captain 
Norton,  were  ascending  Connecticut  river  in  a  vessel,  being  unac 
quainted  with  the  channel,  they  hired  Indian  pilots  to  direct  theno  ; 
but  faithless  and  treacherous  guides  they  proved  to  be,  for  they 
murdered  both  officers  atitl  ciew.  consisting  of  nine  men. 

Soon  after  the  murder  of  Captain  Stone,  the  old  feud  between 
the  Narragansetts  and  Pequots  began  to  exhibit  itself,  which 
alarmed  Sassacus  and  his  Sachems ;  so  that  they  sought  an  alii- 


ance,  offensive  and  defensive,  with  the  English  in  Massachusetts, 
and  sent  a  messenger  to  Boston  to  propose  a  treaty.  But  the 
governor,  distrusting  the  position  of  the  ambassador,  ordered  him 
to  return,  and  say  to  the  Pequots,  that  they  must  send  men  of 
more  consequence,  or  he  would  not  treat  with  them. 

Soon  after  two  Pequots  of  royal  blood  appeared  with  an  accept 
able  present.  Negotiations  were  entered  into  which  resulted  in  a 
treaty  by  which  the  Indians  were  to  give  the  English  all  their  title 
to  the  lands  on  the  Connecticut  river,  if  they  would  send  men  to 
live  there  and  trade  with  them  ;  they  would  also  give  them  four 
hundred  fathoms  of  wampum,  forty  beaver  skins,  and  thirty  other 
skins. 

Soon  after  the  conclusion  of  this  treaty,  and  during  the  year 
1635,  four  English  plantations  were  commenced  upon  Connecticut 
river,  three  of  them  by  congregations  that  came  with  their  minis 
ters  from  the  Massachusetts  settlements,  and  the  other  was  effect 
ed  by  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  at  Say  brook,  under  a  commission  from 
Lord  Say  and  Seal,  Lord  Brook,  and  others. 

Notwithstanding  this  treaty,  the  government  of  Massachusetts 
distrusted  the  friendship  of  the  Pequots,  and  inasmuch  as  Sassa- 
cus  did  not  use  his  influence  to  procure  the  murderers  of  Captain 
Stone  and  Norton,  and  deliver  them  to  the  English,  as  was  promis 
ed  by  the  Pequots  preliminary  to  said  treaty,  they  sent  instructions 
to  Mr.  Wintbrop,  then  at  Sav brook,  to  demand  of  the  Pequots  "a 
solemn  meeting  of  conference,"  and  lay  before  them  certain  charges, 
which,  if  they  could  not  refute  or  render  suitable  reparation  there 
for,  then  all  the  presents  made  by  the  Pequots  to  the  Massachu 
setts  government  were  to  be  returned  to  them,  with  a  protest, 
equi vale ut  to  a  declaration  of  war. 

Their  instructions  were  dated  at  Boston,  July  4th,  1636,  and 
were  brought  to  Saybrook  by  Mr.  Fenwick,  Hugh  Peters,  and 
Capt.  Oldham,  with  whom  came  Thomas  Stanton  to  act  as  inter 
preter. 

The  Pequot  Sachem  was  sent  for,  who  appeared  ;  the  conference 
was  held  ;  but  no  satisfaction  could  be  obtained  from  him ;  where 
upon  the  presents  were  returned  ;  but  war  was  not  declared,  though 
they  separated  with  unfriendly  feelings  toward  each  other. 

About  the  time  that  Mr.  Fenwick  left  Boston  for  Saybrook  to 
treat  with  the  Indians,  Capt.  Oldham,  while  on  a  trading  expedi 
tion,  was  murdered  by  the  Indians  near  Block  Island,  and  all  on 
board  his  vessel  perished  with  him.  Another  trader,  Capt.  John 
Gallup  of  Boston,  speedily  avenged  his  death,  and  sent  his  murder 
ers  to  the  bottom  of  the  deep. 

The  brutal  murder  of  Capt.  Oldham  was  traced  to  some  of  the 
Narragansett  Sachems,  who  had  contrived  the  plan  to  murder  him. 
It  is  not  probable  that  the  Pequots  had  anything  to  do  with  it.  It 
is  more  probable  that  he  was  murdered  by  the  Narragansetts  be 
cause  he  was  supposed  to  favor  peace  with  Pequots,  having  visited 
them  a  short  time  before,  with  Mr.  Fenwick,  for  that  purpose. 

The  Governor,  acting  uuder  the  advice  of  the  magistrates  and 
ministers  of  Massachusetts,  resolved  that  the  Block  Island  Indians 
should  be  chastised.  John  Endicott,  with  ninety  men,  was  order- 


ed  to  sail  for  Block  Island,  and  put  to  death  all  the  men,  and  take 
the  women  and  children  prisoners,  after  which  he  was  directed  to 
sail  for  Pequot  harbor,  and  demand  of  the  Pequots  the  murderers 
of  Captain  Stone  and  his  crew  ;  if  the  Pequots  failed  to  comply,  to 
use  force. 

Endicott  repaired  to  Block  Island,  killed  fourteen  Indians,  de 
stroyed  their  corn  and  burned  their  wigwams  ;  then  sailed  for  Pe 
quot  harbor,  via  Saybrook,  and  reported  to  Lyon  Gardener,  who 
commanded  the  fort  there,  what  he  bad  done  at  Block  Island.  Gar 
dener,  who  believed  the  Narragansetts,  and  not  the  Block  Island 
Indians,  guilty  of  the  murder  of  Oldham,  complained  bitterly  of 
this  rash  act. 

Endicott  lost  no  time  in  reaching  Peqaot  harbor,  and  took  the 
Indians  by  surprise.  He  landed  on  the  east  side,  and  ascended  the 
hill,  where  he  found  Indian  cornfields,  dotted  here  and  there  with 
wigwams,  and  demanded  the  heads  of  the  Pequots  who  had  killed 
Captain  Stone,  or  he  would  fight.  He  demanded  an  interview  with 
Sassacus,  and  was  told  that  the  chief  was  at  Long  Island,  and 
could  not  be  seen.  After  a  fruitless  attempt  to  find  a  responsible 
Sachem  with  whom  to  confer,  he  advanced  and  burned  all  the  wig 
wams  that  he  could  find,  and  at  night  re-embarked  his  men. 

The  next  day  they  landed  on  the  west  side  of  said  harbor,  prob 
ably  where  the  city  of  New  London  now  stands,  and  burned  and 
desolated  th©  country.  Gardener,  while  disapproving  Endicott's 
expedition,  furnished  him  with  twenty  men,  and  instructed  them  to 
bring  back  corn,  if  not  Indians.  In  undertaking  to  get  the  corn, 
after  Endicott  and  his  men  had  left,  they  were  attacked  with  such 
force  by  the  Indians  that  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that 
they  reached  their  vessel  with  their  plunder.  Endicott  and  his 
men  returned  to  Boston,  and  thus  ended  an  unwise  expedition, 
fruitful  of  unhappy  events. 

The  Ptquots  lost  but  one  man,  which,  with  the  destruction  of 
their  wigwams  and  corn,  made  them  all  the  more  troublesome  and 
dangerous.  They  first  attacked  Saybrook  fort,  whither  some  of 
their  corn  had  been  transported,  and  in  October  took  one  Butter- 
field  prisoner,  and  roasted  him  alive  with  horrible  tortures.  Soon 
after,  they  captured  a  man  by  the  name  of  Tilly,  who  commanded  a 
vessel.  They  killed  his  attendant  outright,  then  cut  off  Tilly's 
hands,  amputated  his  feet,  and  then  by  the  most  infernal  ingenuity 
that  devils  could  invent,  tortured  him  to  death.  They  invested  the 
Saybrook  fort  so  closely  that  Gardener  lost  a  number  of  his  men, 
who  were  ambushed  and  slain  by  the  Indians.  So  closely  was  he 
pressed,  that  daring  the  winter  of  1636  and  '37,  Captain  Mason  and 
twenty  men  were  sent  down  to  reinforce  the  garrison  at  Saybrook. 

In  March,  the  Indians  took  a  shallop,  as  she  was  sailing  down  the 
river  with  three  men.  One  was  killed  in  the  fight,  and  the  other 
two  were  murdered,  cut  to  pieces,  and  bung  upon  the  branches  of 
the  trees,  to  taunt  and  defy  the  power  of  the  English. 

In  April  following,  the  Pequots  went  up  to  Wethersfield  and  way 
laid  the  planters.  They  killed  six  men,  and  took  two  girls  captive, 
whom  they  finally  allowed  the  Dutch  to  ransom  when  they  returned 
home. 


About  this  time  Massachusetts  sent  John  Underbill  to  reinforce 
the  garrison  at  Saybrook.  When  he  reached  the  fort,  Mason  and 
his  men  returned  to  Hartford. 

On  the  first  day  of  May,  1637,  the  General  Court  of  Connecticut 
assembled  at  Hartford.  These  horrible  Indian  massacres  had 
aroused  the  English,  and  caused  them  to  make  a  desperate  effort  to 
save  themselves  from  a  like  fate.  The  four  English  plantations  on 
the  river  consisted  of  less  than  three  hundred  souls,  surrounded 
by  more  than  ten  thousand  savages  resident  within  the  present 
limits  of  our  State.  The  frequent  secessions  that  had  occurred 
among  the  Indians  had  torn  them  into  a  large  number  of  tribes 
and  clans,  antagonistic  to  each  other. 

For  a  long  time  previous  to  the  coming  of  the  English,  Uncas 
and  the  Mohegans  had  been  subject  to  the  Pequots.  They  had 
made  four  attempts  to  secede  and  establish  an  independent  tribe, 
but  failed  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  English  had  commenced  their  settle 
ment  on  the  Connecticut  river,  Uncas  with  his  adherents  seceded 
and  joined  the  Connecticut  river  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Hartford 
and  Windsor,  who  had  previously  invited  the  planters  to  come  and 
settle  among  them. 

The  failure  of  the  Pequots  to  make  a  satisfactory  treaty  with  the 
English,  who  had  restored  the  Connecticut  river  Indians  to  their 
rightful  territory,  and  ousted  the  Dutch  from  the  land  sold  them 
by  the  Pequots,  and  finally  had  sided  with  and  sheltered  Uncas, 
the  arch  rebel,  who  had  so  often  defied  them,  was  too  much  for  the 
proud,  warlike  Pequots  to  endure  ;  so  they  resolved  to  extirpate  the 
English,  not  by  a  bold,  manly  effort,  but  by  cutting  tbem  up  piece 
meal,  with  fire  and  torture,  the  most  diabolical  and  inhuman. 

So,  when  the  General  Court  assembled,  they  declared  war,  offens 
ive  war,  against  the  Pequots,  and  raised  an  army  of  ninety  men  to 
invade  the  territory  of  the  most  warlike  and  cruel  of  all  the  New 
England  tribes,  and  appointed  Captain  John  Mason  commander  in- 
chief  of  the  expedition.  The  soldiers  were  enlisted,  equipped  and 
provisioned  in  ten  days,  and  sailed  from  Hartford,  May  10th,  1637, 
accompanied  by  Uncas  and  seventy  friendly  Indians.  The  fleet 
consisted  of  three  vessels,  and  the  English  being  unacquainted  with 
the  navigation  of  the  river,  ran  their  vessels  aground  several  times, 
but  after  five  days  they  reached  Saybrook  fort. 

Uucas  and  his  men  were  so  impatient  of  delay  that  they  begged 
to  be  set  ashore,  promising  to  meet  the  English  at  Saybrook,  to 
which  Mason  consented.  Uncas  kept  his  word,  and  on  his  way 
down  fell  in  with  a  clan  of  Pequots,  killed  some  of  them,  and  took 
one  prisoner,  who  happened  to  be  a  spy,  whom  he  executed  in  true 
Pequot  style. 

Capt.  Underbill  tendered  to  Mason  his  services,  with  nineteen 
men,  for  the  expedition,  on  condition  that  Capt.  Gardener,  the  com  • 
mander  of  the  fort,  would  consent,  which  was  cheerfully  granted. 
Mason  then  sent  back  twenty  of  his  own  men  to  guard  the  well- 
nigh  defenceless  settlement  during  his  absence. 

His  little  fleet  lay  wind-bound  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  until 
the  18th,  during  which  time  Mason  summoned  and  held  a  council 
of  war,  which,  after  protracted  discussions  and  advice  of  their  chap- 


6 

lain,  decided  to  change  the  order  of  the  General  Court,  and  set  sail 
for  Narragansett   Bay.     They  left  Friday  morning,   and   reached 
there  Saturday  evening,  but  were  not  able  to  land  on  account  of  the 
weather  before  the  next  Tuesday  evening,  May  23d,  when  they  im 
mediately  set  out  for  the  residence  of  Miantouomoh. 

During  the  night,  an  Indian  runner  brought  news  to  Mason,  that 
Capt.  Patrick,  with  forty  men  from  the  Massachusetts  colony,  had 
reached  Providence,  on  their  way  to  join  in  the  expedition  against 
the  Pequots.  But  Mason  decided  not  to  wait,  but  marched  the 
next  morning,  May  24th,  for  the  Pequot  fort.  As  he  proceeded  he 
was  joined  by  a  large  party  of  Narragansetts  sent  on  by  Miantono- 
moh. 

He  reached  the  Niantic  fort  the  next  evening,  which  he  surround 
ed  until  morning,  when,  after  a  fatiguing  march  of  twelve  miles,  he 
reached  the  fording  place  in  Pawcatuck  river,  when  Mason  and  his 
army  halted  and  rested.  After  dinner,  they  marched  on  to  Taug- 
wonk  in  Stonington,  where  they  found  a  field  just  planted  with  In 
dian  corn  ;  here  they  halted  and  held  another  council  of  war.  Ma 
son  now  learned  for  the  first  time  that  the  Pequots  had  two  forts, 
both  of  which  were  very  strong.  At  first  it  was  decided  to  attack 
both,  but  after  learning  that  the  one  where  Sassacus  commanded 
was  too  remote  to  be  reached  in  time,  they  resolved  to  go  ahead  and 
attack  the  fort  at  Mystic. 

Their  line  of  march  all  the  way  from  Narragansett  had  been 
along  the  old  Indian  path,  traveled  from  time  immemorial  by  the 
natives,  until  they  crossed  Pawcatuck  river,  and  reached  Taugwonk. 
But  from  Taugwonk  onward  they  deployed  to  the  north,  to  avoid 
being  discovered  by  the  Pequots  at  Mystic  fort,  and  at  early  eve 
ning  they  reached  a  place  now  known  as  Porter's  Rocks,  in  Groton, 
where  between  two  high  ledges  "they  pitched  their  little  camp." 
The  night  was  clear,  with  a  shining  moon,  and  after  Mason  had  set 
his  guards  he  and  his  men  lay  down  and  slept.  About  two  hours 
before  day,  the  men  were  called,  and  ordered  to  get  ready,  and  after 
commending  themsevles  to  the  keeping  of  the  all-wise  Disposer  of 
events,  they  set  out  for  the  fort,  which  was  about  two  miles  off. 

There  were  two  entrances  to  the  fort,  and  it  was  decided  that 
Mason  should  enter  on  the  northeast  side,  and  Underhill  on  the 
southwest  side.  Mason  went  forward,  and  when  within  a  rod  of 
the  fort  was  discovered  by  a  Pequot,  who  cried  out,  "  Owanux ! 
Owanux !" 

Mason  and  his  men  entered  the  fort  through  the  northeast  pas 
sage,  while  Underbill  and  his  men  passed  in  at  the  southwest.  A 
hand  to  hand  contest  ensued  on  both  sides  of  the  fort.  Mason 
soon  saw  that  his  only  hope  of  complete  success  lay  in  burning 
their  fort  and  wigwams,  and  immediately  set  fire  to  them,  which 
spread  with  wonderful  rapidity.  The  scene  which  followed  was 
awful  beyond  all  human  description,  the  result  of  which  was  the 
complete  overthrow  of  the  Pequots  as  a  tribe,  and  the  consequent 
salvation  of  the  English  settlement  on  the  Connecticut  river.  It 
was  the  most  fearful  chastisement  that  any  tribe  of  Indians  ever 
received  ;  but  they  were  the  Modocs  of  their  day,  and  when  we 
consider  the  terrible  cruelties  perpetrated  by  them,  the  awful  tor- 


tures  that  they  inflicted  upon  their  English  captives,  who  shall  say 
that  justice  did  cot  overtake  them  ? 

After  the  close  of  the  battle,  and  while  Mason  and  his  men  were 
consulting  what  course  to  take,  they  discovered  their  vessels  sailing 
before  a  fair  wind  for  Pequot  harbor,  and  immediately  resolved  to 
reach  them  by  a  march  across  the  present  town  of  Groton.  But 
before  they  were  ready  to  move  they  were  attacked  by  about  three 
hundred  Pequots  from  the  other  fort  at  Weinshawks.  Captain 
Mason,  with  a  file  or  two  of  his  men,  repelled  the  attack,  and  then 
began  his  march  towards  his  vessels. 

As  soon  as  he  had  left  the  scene  of  the  battle,  the  Pequots  visited 
the  site  of  the  fort,  and  after  beholding  what  had  been  done  by  the 
English,  stamped  their  feet  and  tore  the  hair  from  their  heads,  and 
then  pursued  them  down  the  hill  with  all  the  power  that  their 
thirst  for  vengeance  could  inspire. 

As  soon  as  Mason  discovered  their  approach,  he  ordered  his  rear 
guard  to  face  about  and  engage  them,  when,  after  a  few  volleys, 
they  retired,  giving  the  little  army  time  to  rest  and  refresh  them 
selves  by  a  brook  at  the  foot  of  the  bill  on  the  top  of  which  the 
fort  stood.  Then,  after  a  little  while,  they  again  commenced  to 
march,  and  on  their  way  fell  in  with  and  burned  several  wigwams. 
The  Pequots  followed,  but  kept  at  a  distance,  trying  in  vain  to 
reach  and  kill  some  of  Mason's  men  with  their  arrows,  receiving  in 
turn  severe  punishment,  for  every  Pequot  that  fell  by  their  deadly 
aim  was  scalped  by  the  friendly  Indians. 

Getting  tired  of  their  pursuit,  and  of  its  fatal  consequences  to 
them,  they  abandoned  it,  when  Mason  was  within  about  two  miles 
of  the  harbor,  after  which  he  was  unmolested  until  he  reached 
Pequot  river. 

Captain  Patrick,  with  his  men,  who  reached  Iljarragansett  soon 
after  Mason  left,  and  before  the  fleet  set  sail  on  their  return,  em 
barked  his  men  on  board  the  shallop,  and  came  in  her  to  Pequot 
harbor. 

Some  difficulty  arose  between  Captain  Underbill  and  Captain 
Patrick  about  re-embarking  Underbill's  men,  which,  after  high 
words,  was  arranged  so  that  Underbill,  with  all  the  Connecticut 
men  but  about  twenty,  set  sail  for  Saybrook,  while  Mason  and 
twenty  of  his  soldiers,  joined  by  Captain  Patrick  and  his  men,  with 
the  friendly  Indians,  marched  overland  to  the  Connecticut  river. 

About  midway  they  fell  in  with  the  Niantic  Indians,  who  fled  on 
their  approach,  and  being  exhausted  with  their  long  march,  they 
did  not  pursue  them,  but  passed  on  to  the  river,  reaching  it  about 
sunset,  where  they  encamped  for  the  night.  The  next  morning 
they  crossed  over  to  Saybrook,  and  were  welcomed  back  by  Capt. 
Gardener. 

After  providing  for  the  safe  return  of  the  Narragansett  Indians, 
Mason  and  his  men  returned  to  Hartford,  where  they  were  received 
with  great  rejoicing  and  praising  God. 

After  the  Pequots  abandoned  the  pursuit  of  Mason,  they  imme 
diately  returned  to  Sassacus's  fort,  and  charged  him  with  being  tb© 
sole  cause  of  all  the  troubles  that  had  befallen  them  ;  and  would 
have  slain  him  on  the  spot  but  for  the  entreaty  of  their  Sachems 


8 

and  counsellors.  After  a  long  consultation,  they  concluded  to  de 
stroy  their  fort  and  flee  from  their  homes  into  various  parts  of  the 
country.  The  largest  portion  fled  to  the  westward,  crossing  Con 
necticut  river  some  ways  above  Saybrook,  where  they  took  and  slew 
three  Englishmen  that  they  captured  in  a  shallop. 

The  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts  decided  to  follow  up 
Mason's  success.  They  raised  and  sent  forward  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  under  the  command  of  Mr.  Stoughton,  with  instruc 
tions  to  prosecute  the  war  to  the  bitter  end.  They  reached  Pequot 
harbor  in  June,  1637,  and  landed  on  the  west  side,  where  they  en 
camped,  and  from  which  they  pursued  the  remaining  Pequots  with 
unrelenting  vengeance. 

Captain  Stoughton  was  joined  by  Miantonomoh,  and  one  of  his 
Sachems  called  Yotash,  with  a  band  of  Narragansett  warriors,  who 
proved  a  most  efficient  aid  in  hunting  out  the  concealed  Pequots. 
They  drove  a  large  number  of  them  into  a  swamp  in  Groton,  and 
took  about  on©  hundred  prisoners.  One  Sachem  was  spared  on 
condition  that  he  would  conduct  the  English  to  Sassacus.  The 
women  and  children  were  reserved  for  bondage,  and  the  men,  thirty 
in  number,  were  walked  overboard  on  a  plank  from  a  vessel  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Thames  river. 

The  General  Court  of  Connecticut  met  at  Hartford  in  June,  and 
ordered  that  forty  men  should  be  raised  and  put  under  the  command 
of  Mason  to  prosecute  the  war.  They  soon  joined  the  Massachu 
setts  men  under  Stoughton,  at  Pequot.  A  council  of  war  was  held, 
which  decided  to  pursue  Sassacus  in  his  flight  toward  the  Hudson 
river.  They  soon  found  traces  of  the  Pequots,  who  were  evidently 
moving  at  a  slow  pace,  doubtless  encumbered  with  their  women 
and  children.  But  it  was  difficult  to  tell,  from  the  number  of  trails 
they  were  pursuing,  which  was  the  trail  of  Sassacus'  band.  So 
they  called  up  the  Sachem  that  Stoughton  had  spared  on  condition 
that  he  would  point  out  the  trail  of  the  great  chief,  but  he  refused 
to  give  any  information,  and  was  put  to  death. 

They  still  pursued  the  flying  Pequots,  and  drove  them  into  a 
swamp  in  the  town  of  Fairfield,  where  they  surrounded  them  ;  and 
after  a  severe  conflict,  they  captured  about  one  hundred  and  eighty 
prisoners,  twenty  lay  dead  upon  the  field,  and  about  sixty  warriors 
escaped.  Most  of  the  property  that  the  Pequots  were  endeavoring 
to  take  with  them  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English. 

Sassacus  was  not  in  the  swamp,  for  he  had  previously  fled  to  the 
Mohawks  for  protection,  but  in  vain.  He  had  defied  them  in  his 
prosperity,  and  now  in  his  evil  days  they  avenged  themselves.  They 
beheaded  him,  and  sent  his  scalp  as  a  trophy  to  Connecticut. 

On  the  21st  of  September,  IJncas  and  Miantonomoh,  with  the 
remaining  Pequots,  met  the  magistrates  of  Connecticut  at  Hartford. 
A  treaty  was  then  entered  into  between  Connecticut,  the  Mohegans 
and  Narragansetts,  and  by  its  terms  there  was  to  be  a  perpetual 
peace  between  those  two  tribes  and  the  English.  Then,  with  im 
posing  ceremonials,  the  magistrates  divided  the  remainder  of  the 
Pequots  among  the  Narragansetts  and  Mohegans  ;  to  Uncas  they 
gave  eighty,  to  Miantonomoh  eighty,  and  to  Ninigret  they  gave 
twenty. 


9 

They  were  to  be  called  Pequots  no  more,  but  Mohegans  and  Nar- 
ragan setts  ;  nor  were  they  ever  to  dwell  again  in  their  old  haunts, 
or  occupy  their  planting  or  hunting  grounds.  Nearly  all  of  those 
that  were  assigned  to  Miantonomoh  left  him  almost  immediately 
after  they  went  with  him  to  Rhode  Island,  and  sought  a  home  on 
the  old  territory  of  the  Pequots,  in  what  is  now  the  town  of  Wes 
terly.  The  most  of  the  Pequots  given  to  Ninigret  remained  with 
him  until  1654,  when,  upon  the  demand  of  the  English,  they  were 
given  up.  They  located  themselves  on  both  sides  of  Massatuxet 
creek,  where  they  built  a  large  number  of  wigwams,  and  when  the 
spring  returned  again  they  planted  their  Indian  corn  and  lived 
quietly,  disturbing  no  one. 

But  the  General  Court  of  Connecticut,  in  1639,  sent  Captain  Ma 
son  with  forty  men,  and  Uncas  with  one  hundred  friendly  Indians, 
to  break  up  this  new  settlement  of  the  Pequots,  burn  their  wig 
wams,  and  carry  off  or  destroy  their  corn  ;  claiming  that  it  was  in 
violation  of  the  treaty  between  the  English,  Narragan setts  and 
Mohegans,  for  the  Pequots  to  occupy  any  of  the  old  Pequot  lands. 

Mason  and  Uncas  set  sail  from  the  Connecticut  river  for  Pawca- 
tuck  river,  and  first  landed  their  forces  on  the  Connecticut  side  of 
the  same,  then  marched  up  to  Pawcatuck  rock,  (so  called,)  where 
they  drew  up  their  Indian  canoes,  and  in  them  crossed  the  river, 
and  marched  immediately  up  to  the  wigwams  and  corn  fields  of  the 
Pequots,  which,  after  a  parley  with  them,  they  burned  and  destroy 
ed,  carrying  off  all  the  corn  they  could,  and  twenty  of  the  Pequot 
canoes. 

The  destruction  of  their  wigwams  did  not  cause  them  to  abandon 
their  new  home,  but  as  s©on  as  Mason  and  Uncas  left,  they  com 
menced  rebuilding  their  wigwams,  and  from  the  corn  that  they  had 
stored,  and  the  fish  and  game  at  hand,  they  managed  to  subsist 
until  another  harvest  gave  them  food  in  abundance. 

Notwithstanding  the  displeasure  of  th@  Connecticut  authorities, 
they  continued  to  reside  at  Westerly  until  some  time  after  that 
town  was  settled  by  the  English,  in  1661-2.  They  cultivated  at 
different  times  over  a  hundred  lots.  Their  principal  village  was 
located  near  Massatuxet  creek. 

It  is  not  known  that  any  Sachem  was  chosen  by  or  placed  over 
these  Indians  by  the  English  for  several  years.  Wequash,  who 
guided  Mason  to  the  Pequot  fort,  was  an  Eastern  Niantic  Sachem, 
who  had  a  younger  brother,  known  by  the  name  of  Harmon  Garret. 
They  were  the  sons  of  Momojoshuck,  a  Niantic  Sachem,  who  had  a 
younger  brother,  Ninigret  or  Ninicraft. 

After  the  death  of  Wequash,  Harmon  assumed  the  name  of  We 
quash  Cook,  and  claimed  to  succeed  his  father  as  the  sachemdo  of 
the  Niantics ;  but  his  uncle  Ninigret,  having  married  Wequash's 
sister,  outranked  him,  and  became  the  recognized  sagamon  of  the 
Niantics. 

Wequash  Cook  then  mingled  with  the  Pequots,  and  soon  became 
their  recognized  chief.  Subsequently  he  was  appointed,  by  the 
commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  and  the  General  Court  of 
Connecticut,  Governor  of  the  Pequots  at  Pawcatuck. 

That  portion  of  the  Pequot  Indians  assigned  to  Uncas  by  the 


10 

Hartford  treaty  of  1638,  refused  to  live  with  the  Mohegans.  They 
sought  a  home  where  they  had  formerly  lived,  on  a  portion  of  the 
territory  now  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the  towns  of  New  Lon 
don  and  Waterford.  They  were  known  by  the  name  of  the  place 
they  then  occupied,  viz  :  Nameaugs  or  Namearks.  Another  por 
tion  of  the  tribe,  containing  some  that  were  given  to  Uncas,  with 
others  who  escaped  from  the  fort  under  cover  of  the  smoke,  and 
quite  a  number  who  were  not  there  at  the  time  of  its  destruction, 
located  themselves  at  Noank.  They  refused  to  amalgamate  with 
the  Mohegans,  for  they  could  net  bear  the  tyranny  of  Uncas,  who 
lorded  it  over  them  with  a  high  hand. 

In  1643,  the  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  Connecticut  and  New 
Haven  plantations,  entered  into  a  combination  or  confederation  un 
der  the  name  of  the  United  Colonies  of  New  England,  for  purposes 
offensive  and  defensive,  mutual  advice,  protection  and  support,  with 
power  to  regulate  and  adjust  all  matters  concerning  the  welfare  of 
the  Indians. 

In  1649,  a  missionary  society  was  formed  in  England,  under  the 
influence  of  Gov.  Winslow,  of  Plymouth,  and  was  incorporated  by 
an  act  of  the  Long  Parliament,  passed  July  27th  of  that  year,  un 
der  the  name  of  "  The  President  and  Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel  in  New  England." 

In  March,  1650,  this  society  appointed  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  Colonies  agents  to  assist  them  in  disseminating  the  Gospel 
among  the  Indians  of  New  England. 

When  Gov.  Winthrop  begun  the  settlement  of  New  London,  in 
1645,  he  found  a  small  portion  of  the  Nameaugs  still  occupying 
their  old  haunts,  with  a  nominal  chief  by  the  name  of  Cassasinamon, 
whom  the  English  called  Robbin.  They  were  not  only  held  tribu 
tary  to  Uncas,  but  subject  to  every  indignity  that  his  savage  inge 
nuity  could  invent. 

Notwithstanding  the  Nameaug  Pequots  had  so  recently  been  at 
war  with  the  English,  they  now  received  them  with  open  arms,  and 
extended  to  them  every  accommodation  in  their  power.  Cassasina 
mon  became  the  servant  of  Gov.  Winthrop,  and  many  of  his  sub 
jects  rendered  the  English  all  the  assistance  they  could. 

The  English  planters  took  the  part  of  the  Nameaugs  against  Un 
cas,  and  labored  to  soften  the  severity  of  his  treatment  of  them.  In 
consequence   thereof,   he   became   jealous  of  Gov.  Winthrop,   and 
sought  in  various  ways  to  terrify  and  intimidate  the  inhabitants  of 
the  new  settlement. 

The  first  display  of  Uncas'  displeasure  towards  the  planters,  on 
account  of  their  partiality  to  the  Nameaugs,  took  place  in  1646. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  Peters,  then  residing  at  New  London,  had  been 
seriously  indisposed,  and  with  returning  health  his  appetite  craved 
some  venison,  which  he  requested  the  Nameaugs  to  procure  for 
him. 

Fearing  that  Uncas  might  interfere,  they  hesitated  at  first,  for 
he  claimed  the  sole  privilege  of  making  a  hunt  in  his  dominions ; 
but  being  encouraged,  and  wishing  to  gain  the  friendship  of  the 
planters,  they  concluded  to  make  the  attempt.  But  before  engag 
ing  in  the  sport  they  sought  an  alliance  with  the  Pequots  and  East 


11 

ern  Niantics  under  Harmon  Garret ;  so  Robbin,  with  twenty  of  his 
men,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  the  whites,  crossed  the  river,  and 
joined  their  friends  under  Wequash  Cook,  and  sallied  forth  with 
high  hopes  of  catching  a  fine  deer  for  Mr.  Peters. 

But  Uncas,  who  had  obtained  notice  of  their  design,  waylaid 
them  with  about  three  hundred  of  his  warriors.  Watching  a  favor 
able  opportunity,  they  sprang  forth  from  their  hiding  place,  com 
pletely  surprising  the  sportsmen,  whom  they  drove  in  every  direc 
tion,  pursuing  the  Nameaugs  back  to  the  new  plantation,  wounding 
several  of  them  severely,  and  plundering  some  of  their  habitations, 
and  threatening  to  pillage  the  whites,  who  became  alarmed  at  such 
hostile  demonstrations. 

During  the  month  of  September,  1646,  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  Colonies  met  at  New  Haven,  and  Mr.  Peters  complained  of 
Uncas  for  interfering  with  his  huntsmen,  who  were  peaceably  en 
gaged  in  hunting  on  the  old  Pequot  territory,  only  a  part  of  which 
belonged  to  him,  whereupon  he  was  summoned  to  appear  and  an 
swer  for  himself. 

He  went  to  New  Haven,  and  asserted  his  right  to  control  the 
Nameaugs,  under  the  tripartite  treaty  of  1638  ;  and  further,  that  a 
large  number  of  his  ^subjects  had  been  lured  from  him  under  the 
plea  of  submitting  to  the  English.  He  managed  his  case  with  so 
much  shrewdness  and  address  before  the  Commissioners,  that  he 
obtained  their  favor,  ancl  Mr.  Peters  with  his  coadjutors  were  un 
ceremoniously  dismissed  ;  so  Uncas  came  off  victorious. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Commissioners,  which  took  place  in 
July,  1647,  Gov.  Winthrop  put  in  an  appearance,  with  a  petition 
signed  by  sixty-two  Pequots  residing  at  or  near  Noank,  entreating 
to  be  released  from  the  tyranny  of  Uncas,  and  to  be  allowed  to  set 
tle  together  in  one  place,  under  the  protection  of  the  English.  Af 
ter  a  full  hearing,  Uncas  was  fitly  rebuked  for  his  sinful  miscar 
riages,  and  fined  one  hundred  fathom  of  wampum  ;  but  the  Pequots 
were  ordered  to  return  to  his  control,  and  to  amalgamate  with  the 
Mohegans,  an  order  which  was  never  carried  into  effect. 

By  this  time  a  large  portion  of  the  Indians  under  Robbin  had 
taken  up  their  residence  at  or  near  Noank,  where  they  had  a  good 
opportunity  to  fish  and  raise  corn  for  a  living. 

In  1648,  the  Commissioners  again  re-enacted  their  decree,  and 
ordered  all  the  Nameaugs  to  remain  under  the  sway  of  Uncas.  The 
Commissioners  continued  to  favor  his  claims  to  the  control  of  the 
Nameaugs,  and  disapproved  of  their  withdrawing  from  him  ;  but  in 
1649  consented  that  they  might  go  and  settle  by  themselves  in 
some  place  that  would  not  prejudice  the  town  of  New  London,  and 
also  on  condition  that  they  would  own  Uncas  as  their  chief  Sachem. 

About  this  time,  and  for  several  years  after,  the  haughty  Mohe- 
gan  had  his  hands  full  to  keep  clear  of  the  grasp  of  his  Indian  foes. 
From  the  time  he  executed  Miantonomoh  until  1660,  and  in  fact 
until  Norwich  was  settled  by  the  English,  Uncas  was  repeated 
ly  driven  from  Mohegan,  and  compelled  to  seek  shelter  among  the 
western  Niantics  ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  he  ever  lorded  it  over 
the  Nameaugs  after  they  were  located  in  the  vicinity  of  Noank,  un 
der  the  immediate  control  of  Robbin,  where  for  a  few  years  only 


12 

they  were  permitted  to  live  in  peace,  and  not  again  to  be  disturbed 
by  Uncas,  but  by  the  English. 

It  was  during  the  year  1649,  that  Chesebrough  began  the  settle 
ment  of  Stonington,  which  was  soon  followed  by  grants  of  land  by 
New  London  to  Winthrop,  Mason,  Stanton,  Denison,  Miner,  Bur 
rows,  Gallup,  and  others,  between  the  Thames  and  Pawcatuck  riv 
ers,  covering  the  most  eligible  locations  along  the  seashore,  some  of 
which  included  lands  planted  by  the  Nameaugs.  The  Indians  did 
not  confine  their  planting  to  their  villages,  but  broke  up  land  where- 
ever  they  could  hold  control  from  planting  to  harvest  time. 

The  English  claimed  all  the  Pequot  territory  as  belonging  to 
them  by  conquest ;  not  only  the  jurisdiction,  but  the  fee  thereof. 
They  regarded  these  Indian  settlements  as  only  by  sufferance  and 
for  temporary  purposes.  It  was  the  object  of  the  English,  after 
the  Pequot  war  of  1637,  to  merge  the  remnant  of  that  tribe  with 
the  Mohegans  and  Narragansetts,  so  as  to  uncover  and  open  up  all 
their  lands  to  the  English  for  settlement. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  by  the  treaties  between  the  English 
and  Indians  at  Hartford  in  1638,  and  at  Boston  in  1645,  the  Pe 
quot  s  were  required  to  pay  tribute  to  the  English,  which  for  some 
reason  was  not  carried  into  full  effect  until  1650,  when  the  Com 
missioners  appointed  Thomas  Stanton  to  demand  and  receive  it, 
and  make  a  return  yearly  of  the  amount  collected. 

In  1651,  Mr.  Stanton  reported  to  the*  Commissioners  at  New 
Haven,  that  he  had  collected  three  hundred  and  twelve  fathom  of 
wampum  from  all  the  clans  of  the  Pequots.  When  this  tribute  was 
laid  down  before  the  Commissioners,  Uncas  and  others,  who  claim 
ed  that  the  Pequots  were  tributary  to  them,  demanded  to  know 
why  this  tribute  was  required,  and  how  long  it  would  continue,  and 
whether  it  would  be  visited  upon  their  children.  The  Commission 
er,  by  Thomas  Stanton,  said  that  this  tribute  was  by  agreement 
due  yearly  since  1638  ;  that  it  was  required  of  them  for  sundry 
murders  without  provocation,  committed  by  them  upon  several  of 
the  English  at  different  times,  as  they  had  opportunity — refusing 
to  deliver  up  the  murderers,  or  to  do  justice  upon  them  ;  hence  the 
tribute,  which  had  nob  been  paid,  and  twelve  years'  tribute  was 
then  due.  But  on  further  consideration  it  was  declared  by  the 
Commissioners,  "  that  upon  the  payment  of  the  same  for  ten  years 
thereafter  they  should  be  free  therefrom  (unless  they  drew  trouble 
upon  themselves.)  " 

During  the  years  1653  and  1654,  Niuigret  became  involved  in 
war  with  the  Long  Island  Indians,  very  much  against  the  policy 
and  wishes  of  the  Commissioners.  He  had  neglected  to  collect 
and  pay  the  wampum  tribute  due  the  English  from  the  Pequots 
living  with  his  tribe,  and  had  also  employed  them  in  his  expeditions 
against  the  Long  Island  Indians.  Upon  his  being  called  to  account 
by  the  Commissioners  for  the  course  he  was  pursuing,  he  answered 
them  defiantly  ;  whereupon  they  ordered  a  large  number  of  men  to 
assemble  and  rendezvous  at  Thomas  Stanton's  in  Stonington,  and 
with  him  to  go  and  take  the  Pequots  from  Ninigret.  The  men  were 
mustered  in  as  ordered,  and  marched  to  Ninigret's  fort,  and  de 
manded  an  interview  with  him  ;  but  he  was  not  there.  After  maneu- 


13 

vering  awhile,  they  learned  his  whereabouts,  and  finally  succeeded 
in  making  a  treaty  with  him,  by  which  he  gave  up  the  Pequots, 
and  they  consented  to  the  control  of  the  English. 

About  eighteen  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  Pequot  war,  dur 
ing  which  time  the  English  had  made  every  possible  effort  to  merge 
and  amalgamate  the  Pequots  with  the  Mohegan,  Niantic,  and  Nar- 
ragansett  tribes,  but  in  vain.  So  in  1655,  the  Commissioners  de 
cided  to  take  a  new  departure,  and  adopt  a  different  policy,  by 
which  the  Pequots  should  remain  in  two  distinct  tribes  or  bands, 
one  at  Miequamicut  (Westerly,)  and  the  other  at  Noank  (Groton.) 
The  Commissioners  adopted  certain  orders  and  instructions  for 
their  government,  and  then  appointed  Cassasinamon  Governor  of 
the  Groton  tribe,  and  Wequash  Cook  of  the  Westerly  tribe,  com 
manding  them  to  obey  their  governors  at  their  peril.  The  wampum 
tribute  was  to  be  paid  to  Thomas  Stanton,  and  by  him  reported  to 
the  Commissioners. 

In  1656,  Cassasinamon  and  Wequash  Cook  were  re-appointed 
Governors  of  the  Pequots,  and  at  their  request,  for  certain  reasons, 
Mr.  Wmthrop,  Major  Mason,  and  Captain  Denison,  were  appointed 
to  assist  them  in  compelling  the  obedience  of  the  Pequots. 

In  1657,  when  Cassasinamon  and  Wequash  Cook  made  their  an 
nual  report  to  the  Commissioners,  they  made  application  for  more 
land,  for  the  use  of  their  respective  tribes,  and  after  due  consider 
ation  it  was  agreed  and  ordered  by  the  Commissioners,  that  We 
quash  Cook  and  his  company  should  have  a  meet  proportion  of  land 
at  Squamicut,  This  was  really  an  enlargement  of  the  land  then  oc 
cupied  by  them.  It  was  also  ordered  that  Cassasinamon  and  his 
company  should  have  a  fit  proportion  of  land  allowed  them  at  Ware- 
mouke,  near  the  path  that  leads  from  Mystic  river  to  Moheag, 
about  five  or  six  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Mystic  river,  and  advised 
the  General  Court  of  Connecticut  to  appoint  proper  persons  to 
bound  out  the  same  for  them. 

Connecticut  did  not  at  first,  nor  until  1666,  respond  to  the  order 
of  the  Commissioners  to  lay  out  land  for  the  Pequots. 

After  the  Pequot  war,  Connecticut  claimed  the  entire  conquered 
Pequot  territory.  Massachusetts,  which  furnished  men  and  means 
for  the  war,  also  claimed  a  share  thereof.  The  matter  was  referred 
to  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies,  who,  in  1658,  decid 
ed  that  all  of  that  territory  lying  west  of  Mystic  river  should  belong 
to  Connecticut,  and  all  east  of  that  river  should  belong  to  Massa 
chusetts.  Prior  to  this,  and  as  early  as  1649,  Connecticut  had 
asserted  jurisdiction  as  far  east  as  Wecapaug  brook,  and  had  made 
liberal  grants  of  land  to  the  early  planters  there. 

After  the  decision  by  the  Commissioners  in  1658,  Massachusetts 
granted  land  to  Harvard  College  (including  Watch  Hill,)  and  made 
liberal  grants  to  other  parties,  covering  the  entire  lands  occupied 
and  planted  by  the  Pawcatuck  Pequots,  and  nearly  half  of  the  pre 
sent  town  of  Stonington. 

In  1660,  Sosoa,  who  claimed  to  be  a  valorous  Narragansett  chief 
tain,  but  by  some  believed  to  be  a  renegade  Pequot  captain,  sold 
Misquamicut,  or  all  the  land  between  Pawcatuck  river  on  the  west 
and  Wecapaug  brook  on  the  east,  to  William  Vaughn,  Robert  Stan- 


14 

ton,  and  others,  who  took  possession  the  next  year,  under  the  au 
thority  of  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island,  ousting  the  Massachusetts 
claimants  as  well  as  the  Pequots.  A  long  and  bitter  controversy 
ensued  between  the  colonies,  as  well  as  among  the  planters  and 
Indians. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Commissioners,  in  1658,  had  as 
signed  Misquamicut  lands  to  Harmon  Garret's  company  of  the  Pe 
quots,  and  at  their  sension  in  1660  advised  said  Indians  to  keep 
their  possessions,  and  urged  the  Connecticut  colony  to  lay  out  lands 
for  Cassasinamon  at  Warramouke. 

In  1661,  the  Commissioners,  recognizing  the  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  grants,  sugges  ed  an  arrangement  which  was  agreed  to 
all  around,  which  was  that  the  Indians  should  occupy  their  grounds 
for  five  years,  and  then  go  to  new  land,  which  was  to  be  assigned 
them  by  the  Massachusetts  General  Court,  reserving  the  right  of 
travel  to  the  river  and  sea. 

At  the  same  time  the  Connecticut  people  were  stirred  up  to  lay 
out  lands  for  Cassasinamon.  Complaint  was  also  made  against  the 
Rhode  Island  planters,  who  were  then  occupying  some  of  the  lands 
in  question,  whereupon  the  Commissioners  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
Governor  of  Rhode  Island,  protesting  against  their  doings.  A 
message  was  also  sent  to  Harmon  Garret  forbidding  him  to  sell 
any  lands  near  Wecapaug. 

Soon  after  the  Rhode  Island  men  took  possession  of  Misquami 
cut  (Westerly,)  they  drove  the  Pequots  from  their  planting  grounds 
at  Massatuxet  over  Pawcatuck  river  into  the  town  of  Southertown 
(now  Stonington,)  where  they  broke  up  and  planted  lands  belong 
ing  to  the  English  planters,  by  whom  they  were  not  disturbed. 

It  was  in  view  of  this  condition  of  affairs  that  the  Massachusetts 
General  Court,  instead  of  following  the  advice  of  the  Commission 
ers,  that  the  Pawcatuck  Indians  should  retain  possession  of  their 
lands  at  Misquamicut  until  1665,  granted  them  eight  thousand 
acres  of  land,  the  same  to  be  located  on  the  Pequot  territory  in 
Stonington. 

The  next  year  the  Commissioners  ordered  that  this  land  should 
be  laid  out  at  Cosattuck,  now  North  Stonington,  or  in  some  other 
place  satisfactory  to  the  Indians.  They  also  wrote  a  letter  to 
Southertown,  saying  that  three  thousand  acres  would  be  as  little  as 
could  well  satisfy  them,  also  reminding  the  town  that  one  thousand 
acres  had  been  promised  the  Indians  at  Cawsut  Neck,  before  any 
English  grants  were  made.  This  land  was  finally  laid  out  at  Cosat 
tuck  in  such  a  manner  as  to  include  some  English  grants,  already 
occupied  by  the  planters. 

As  soon  as  the  town  ascertained  the  boundaries  of  the  Indian 
lands  at  Cosattuck,  a  meeting  was  called,  in  1664,  which  refused  to 
assent  to  the  settlement  proposed  by  the  Commissioners,  and  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  go  and  warn  the  Indians  off  of  the  town  lands. 

By  the  charter  of  King  Charles  II,  of  1662,  Southertown  had 
again  become  a  part  of  the  Connecticut  colony  ;  so  the  town,  in  1665, 
appealed  to  the  General  Court  of  Connecticut  for  redress,  who  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  consider  the  matter  and  report  back  to  the 
Court. 


15 

This  committee  decided  against  the  towD,  who  remonstrated,  and 
the  court  ordered  the  committee  to  revise  their  work,  which  was 
done,  and  after  mature  deliberation  an  agreement  was  reached  in 
October,  1666,  and  another  committee  was  appointed  to  lay  out 
lands  for  the  Pequots  at  Pachog,  outside  of  the  bounds  of  Ston- 
ingtoo. 

But  no  lands  were  laid  out  for  them  at  Pachog,  nor  in  any  other 
place,  mainly  because  there  was  not  at  that  time  an  unoccupied 
tract  large  enough  for  their  wants.  And  wherever  a  portion  was 
designated  for  them,  it  would  be  found  intrenching  upon  some 
English  grants. 

Pending  all  these  proceedings,  the  Indians  were  dispossessed  of 
their  land  at  Misquamicut ;  but  not  so  in  Stonington,  for  they  oc 
cupied  and  planted  land  wherever  they  could  find  it  unenclosed  by 
the  English.  When  they  first  crossed  the  river  in  1661,  a  majority 
of  them  located  themselves  at  Pawcatuck  and  Cawsut  Neck,  near 
the  salt  water.  Thomas  Stanton  and  the  heirs  of  Walter  Palmer 
held  grants  of  these  lands  from  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  and  they 
labored  to  have  the  Pequots  removed  to  Cosattuck,  which  was  an 
inland  place. 

Catapeset,  a  son  of  Harmon  Garret,  with  a  considerable  company 
of  the  Pequots,  located  themselves  on  Taugwonk,  on  lands  belong 
ing  at  the  time  to  Ephraim  Miner.  There  they  remained  for  a  long 
time,  cultivating  some  of  the  best  land  in  Stonington,  and  there 
they  had  a  village,  and  there  to-day  is  their  burial  place. 

Stanton  and  the  Palmers  did  not  succeed  in  getting  rid  of  the 
Indians  for  a  number  of  years,  though  under  their  influence  a  large 
part  of  them  went  up  to  Cosattuck  to  live,  while  a  large  part  of 
their  young  men  lived  with  and  worked  for  the  English.  Pawca 
tuck  river  was  their  favorite  fishing  place,  and  after  their  removal, 
for  years  and  years,  they  would  with  every  returning  spring  repair 
to  their  old  haunts,  and  remain  during  the  fishing  season,  and  carry 
back  to  their  inland  wigwams  an  innumerable  host  of  smoked 
buckies. 

For  several  years  after  their  failure  to  secure  eight  thousand 
acres  of  land  at  Cosattuck,  they  were  none  of  the  best  of  neighbors. 
They  were  so  much  dissatisfied  that  in  1669-70  they  lent  a  listen 
ing  ear  to  the  wily  messengers  of  King  Philip,  and  their  chief  men 
attended  a  big  dance  at  Robbinstown,  where  were  congregated  a 
large  number  of  Indians  hitherto  hostile  to  each  other.  But 
through  the  influence  of  Mason,  Stanton,  Denison,  and  others,  they 
were  persuaded  to  remain  friendly  to  the  English,  and  finally  took 
up  arms  in  their  defense. 

At  the  swamp  fight  in  Rhode  Island,  in  1675,  Captain  John  Gal 
lup,  of  Stonington,  commanded  the  warriors  of  Harmon's  company, 
and  Captain  James  Avery,  of  New  London,  commanded  the  warriors 
of  Cassasinamon's  company,  where  they  distinguished  themselves 
for  their  bravery,  and  fidelity  to  the  English. 

They  also  joined  the  expeditions  under  Captain  George  Denison 
against  the  Narragansett  Indians  and  the  remnant  of  King  Philip's 
men,  and  performed  good  service. 

and  Cassasinamon  were  present  and  assisted  in  captur 


16 

ing  Quonochut  in  Rhode  Island,  and  aided  at  his  execution  at  An 
guilla  Lands  in  Stonington,  in  1676,  for  all  of  which  they  received 
valuable  presents  from  the  English,  and   were  afterwards  treated 
with  more  lenity  by  them. 

In  October,  1676,  Harmon  and  his  son  Catapset  gave  to  the  Eng 
lish  a  quit-claim  deed  of  all  their  lands  in  Stonington  bounds,  on 
condition  that  the  General  Court  of  Connecticut  would  restore  to 
them  their  old  grounds  at  Misquamicut,  which  the  court  undertook 
to  do,  and  granted  them  more  than  one  half  of  the  present  town  of 
Westerly.  It  is  difficult  to  tell  what  sort  of  a  title,  if  any,  either 
party  had  to  the  lands  conveyed.  The  Indians  did  not  undertake 
to  get  possession  of  Misquamicut  again,  nor  abandon  their  Ston 
ington  lands. 

The  year  previous,  the  General  Court  enacted  a  code  of  laws  for 
the  Pequot  Indians  under  Cassasinamon  and  Harmon  Garret,  and 
authorized  the  appointment  of  an  Indian  constable  to  execute  their 
laws.  The  General  Court  continued  these  Sachems  in  power  as 
governors  of  their  respective  tribes  as  long  as  they  lived,  and  after 
their  death  selected  and  appointed  trustworthy  Pequots  to  fill  their 
places,  with  English  assistants  to  aid  them  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties  until  1699  ;  after  which  the  Indian  Governors  were  dispensed 
with,  and  guardians  and  overseers  were  substituted  in  their  places. 

Harmon  Garret  did  not  live  to  see  his  tribe  settled  on  land  they 
could  call  tbeir  own,  nor  did  he  get  even  a  glimpse  of  his  promised 
land.  He  died  in  1678,  leaving  a  Will,  by  which  he  bequeathed 
land  to  Major  John  Talcott  and  John  Allen,  one  hundred  acres  each. 

After  his  death,  Momoho,  a  noted  Pequot,  was  appointed  Gover 
nor  in  place  of  Harmon  Garret,  whose  first  exploit  was  to  lure  Cas- 
sasinamon's  company  away  from  him.  He  so  far  succeeded  as  to 
cause  a  portion  of  them  to  ask  the  General  Court  for  liberty  to  join 
Momoho ;  but  before  the  matter  came  up  for  a  hearing  they  with 
drew  their  application  and  abandoned  the  project. 

Notwithstanding  the  promises  made  to  the  Indians,  no  lands  had 
as  yet  been  assigned  to  the  Pequots  in  Stonington  as  a  permanent 
home  for  them  to  occupy,  either  by  the  General  Court  or  the  town 
of  Stonington. 

Most  of  the  Indians  hired  lands  of  the  English  to  plant  with 
corn,  paying  the  rent  in  labor  for  the  owners.  But  this  paying 
rent  for  lands  once  their  own,  and  being  compelled  almost  every 
year  to  change  their  habitations  and  break  up  new  lands,  was  not 
at  all  agreeable  to  the  Indians,  and  they  made  repeated  efforts  to 
secure  for  themselves  a  permanent  home. 

In  May,  1678,  they  petitioned  the  General  Court  for  lands  for 
that  purpose.  The  court  appointed  Capt.  James  Avery  and  Captain 
George  Denison  a  committee  to  consider  where  may  be  found  a 
suitable  tract  of  land  for  Momoho  and  the  Pequots  with  him,  and 
to  be  as  near  the  sea  as  convenient. 

What  was  done  by  this  committee  does  not  appear ;  but  the 
General  Court,  in  May,  1679,  advised  the  town  of  Stonington  to 
lay  out  a  sufficient  tract  of  land  for  the  Indians  to  plant,  on  or  as 
near  the  sea  as  may  be — five  hundred  acres  at  least. 

The  town  declined  to  act  upon  the  Court's  advice,  and  in  October 


17 

following  the  General  Court  appointed  another  committee,  consist 
ing  of  Mr.  Willis,  Major  John  Talcott,  and  Captain  John  Allen,  to 
treat  with  Mr.  John  Pyncheon,  of  Springfield,  for  lands  for  Momo- 
ho  and  his  company. 

In  1680,  the  Court  notes  the  fact  that  said  committee  had  been 
treating  with  Major  Pyncheon  for  lands  for  Momoho  near  the  sea, 
and  that  Mr.  Pyncheon  had  taken  the  same  into  consideration  ;  but 
if  that  failed,  then  other  lands  as  convenient  as  can  be  should  be 
procured  and  laid  out  for  them. 

In  May,  1681,  another  committee  was  appointed  by  the  General 
Court  to  procure  a  commodious  tract  of  land  for  Momoho  and  his 
company,  either  by  exchange  or  moderate  purchase. 

The  town  of  Stonington  had  been  from  the  outset  opposed  to  the 
location  of  these  Indians  within  their  boundaries,  and  in  1681  they 
made  an  effort  to  purchase  lands  of  Catapeset,  situated  in  the  town 
of  Westerly,  Rhode  Island,  and  the  General  Court  granted  liberty 
to  Nehemiah  Palmer,  of  Stonington,  to  purchase  said  land  on  cer 
tain  conditions,  and  Catapeset  agreed  to  sell  a  part  of  said  tract  to 
the  town  of  Stonington  for  £20  ;  but  Westerly  men  disputed  Cata- 
peset's  title,  and  the  town  abandoned  the  purchase. 

The  next  year,  in  May,  the  General  Court  appointed  another  com 
mittee  to  buy  lands  for  these  Pequots,  and  to  sell  lands  hitherto 
reserved  for  them,  and  to  apply  the  avails  in  payment  thereof. 

In  May,  1683,  the  General  Court  appointed  another  committee  to 
move  the  people  of  Stonington  to  lay  out  a  suitable  tract  of  land 
for  them ;  but  if  they  neglected  to  do  it,  the  Committee  were  to 
use  their  best  endeavors  to  suit  the  Indians  with  a  commodious 
tract  of  land,  which  they  were  to  procure  by  exchange  of  colony 
land,  or  by  settling  them  on  some  unimproved  or  colony  land,  inti 
mating  that  the  law  required  every  town  to  provide  for  their  own 
Indians. 

But  the  town  refused  to  make  any  provision  for  the  Pequots  that 
looked  to  their  permanent  location  in  Stonington.  So  this  com 
mittee  purchased  a  tract  of  land  of  Mr.  Isaac  Wheeler,  containing 
about  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  situated  in  said  town,  a  little 
way  south  of  Lantern  Hill.  The  deed  was  dated  May  24th,  1683, 
and  conveyed  the  land  to  said  committee  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of 
said  Indians,  reserving  the  herbage  for  Mr.  Wheeler,  who  received 
in  payment  for  said  tract  five  hundred  acres  of  colony  land. 

This  purchase  was  confirmed  by  the  General  Court  at  its  Octo 
ber  session  in  1683,  and  so  to  remain  during  the  Court's  pleasure. 
Momoho  and  his  tribe  reluctantly  abandoned  their  claim  to  lands 
by  the  seaside,  and  at  last  found  an  abiding  place  bordering  upon 
the  sources  of  the  Mystic  river. 

There  they  found  a  permanent  home,  and  there,  among  those 
grand  old  hills,  they  and  their  descendants  have  resided  ever  since  ; 
and  the  land  is  now  held  by  the  State  in  trust  for  their  benefit. 
The  reservation  of  the  herbage  in  Mr.  Wheeler's  deed  led  to  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  for  the  Indians,  because  it  compelled  them  to  fence 
every  patch  they  planted  to  protect  it  from  his  cattle,  and  prevent 
ed  the  Indians  from  owning  or  keeping  cattle  for  themselves. 

Mr.  Wheeler,  in  1685,  took  up  three  hundred  acres  of  his  said 


18 

colony  land  within  the  present  town  of  Plainfield,  and  another  tract 
of  three  hundred  acres  at  Pachog.  Owaneco  claimed  the  Pachog 
land,  which  claim  Mr.  Wheeler  purchased  for  £3. 

Mr.  Wheeler's  youngest  daughter,  Experience,  married  the  Kev. 
Joseph  Coit,  of  Plainfield,  who,  in  1713,  petitioned  the  General 
Assembly  to  lay  out  to  him  the  three  hundred  acres  of  land  grant 
ed  to  Mr.  Wheeler  in  Plainfield,  which  Assembly  directed  the  sur 
veyor  of  New  London  county  to  lay  out  said  land  to  Mr.  Coit,  who 
was  the  grantee  of  said  Wheeler's  right,  and  to  lay  it  out  at  the 
choice  of  Mr.  Coit  and  the  people  of  his  charge. 

Isaac  Wheeler,  by  his  last  will  and  testament,  dated  1712,  gave, 
with  lands  adjoining,  his  said  right  of  herbage  to  his  son,  William 
Wheeler,  who,  by  his  last  will,  dated  1747,  gave  the  same  to  two  of 
his  sons-in-law,  viz  :  William  Williams  and  Nathan  Crary. 

Some  time  before  1716,  Samuel  Miner,   of  Stonington,  and  his 
brother-in-law,  Josiah  Grant,  formerly  of  the  town  of  Windsor,  pur 
chased  four  grants  of  land  made  by  the  General  Court  of  Connecti 
cut  in  1671  and  1672  to  certain  Pequot  soldiers,  containing  in  the 
whole  just  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres. 

In  1716,  Mr.  Miner  (having  previously  purchased  Mr.  Grant's  in 
terest  in  said  land  grants)  laid  out  and  located  the  same  upon  the 
land  sold  by  Mr.  Isaac  Wheeler  to  the  colony  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Pequots,  and  laid  claim  on  the  same ;  which  claim  was  not  only  re 
sisted  by  the  Indians,  but  by  Mr.  Wheeler,  because  if  allowed  it 
would  extinguish  his  right  of  herbage  on  said  lands. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Miner,  his  brother  James  Miner,  as  his 
executor,  brought,  in  1723,  a  petition  to  the  General  Assembly, 
praying  that  his  late  brother's  grants  laid  out  upon  said  tract  of 
land  might  be  confirmed  to  him,  saving  to  the  Indians  what  might 
be  needful  for  them ;  whereupon  the  Assembly  appointed  a  com 
mittee  to  investigate  the  matter,  first  giving  notice  to  all  parties 
interested. 

Mr.  Wheeler  also  appeared  and  claimed  the  lands,  or  his  right  of 
herbage  in  them.  The  committee  were  not  called  upon  to  fix  the 
rights  of  the  parties,  because  Mr.  Miner  and  Mr.  Wheeler  compro 
mised  the  matter  in  1723,  Wheeler  giving  Miner  £60  for  his  inter 
est  therein.  Soon  after,  Mr.  William  Wheeler  fenced  in  the  entire 
tract,  and  improved  it  for  the  herbage,  thereby  compelling  the  In 
dians  to  fence  in  their  gardens  and  such  lands  as  they  wished  to 
plant,  and  in  this  manner  the  land  was  occupied  by  the  Indians 
during  the  life  of  Mr.  Wheeler,  he  taking  all  the  hay  and  grass  that 
the  land  produced. 

After  his  death,  in  1748,  his  sons-in-law,  Williams  and  Crary,  and 
their  wives,  divided  the  land  between  them,  and  Crary  and  his  wife 
sold  a  part  of  their  share  to  Simeon  Miner.  These  lands  were  now 
claimed  by  Williams  and  Crary  in  fee,  subject  only  to  the  right  of 
the  Indians  to  plant  corn,  build  wigwams,  and  live  there. 

The  result  was,  that  the  Indians  received  but  little  benefit  from 
the  lands,  and  became  dissatisfied,  and  appealed  to  the  General 
Assembly,  in  May,  1750,  for  redress  ;  whereupon  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  who  upon  due  consideration 
reported  to  the  October  session,  that  another  committee,  with  full 


19 

power  to  act  in  the  premises,  should  be  appointed  to  visit  Stoning- 
ton  and  investigate  the  matter. 

This  committee  proceeded  to  the  discharge  of  their  duty,  and 
finally  agreed  upon  a  compromise  which  was  satisfactory  to  the  In 
dians,  as  well  as  to  Williams  and  Crary,  which  compromise  was  ap 
proved  by  the  Assembly,  and  was  as  follows  :  The  Governor  and 
Council  agreed  to  release  to  Williams  and  Crary  two  strips  of  land, 
one  of  thirty-five  acres,  on  the  south  side  of  the  original  tract,  and 
the  other  of  twenty  acres,  on  the  east  side  thereof,  and  permit 
them  to  locate  their  ancient  Pequot  grants  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  on  any  ungranted  lands  in  the  colony  ;  on  condition 
that  the  said  Williams  and  Crary  would  release  the  balance  of  the 
entire  tract  to  the  Governor  and  Council  for  the  benefit  of  the  In 
dians,  to  which  they  agreed,  and  subsequently  conveyed  all  their 
interest  in  the  main  tract  to  the  colony,  receiving  in  turn  an  abso 
lute  deed  to  the  two  gore  strips,  with  the  assurance  that  their 
ancient  Pequot  soldier  grants  should  be  laid  out  to  them  by  Roger 
Sherman,  who  subsequently  located  them  in  the  town  of  Plainfield. 

Cassasinamon  and  his  company  had  lands  laid  out  for  them,  un 
der  the  authority  of  the  General  Court  at  Mashantuxet,  in  the  pre 
sent  town  of  Ledyard,  in  1665.  Though  this  grant  was  made  at 
the  request  of  Cassasinamon,  it  was  not  satisfactory  to  him  nor  his 
company.  They  wanted  their  lands  laid  out  at  the  head  of  the 
Mystic  river,  nearer  to  their  fishing  places  ;  but  the  committee  ap 
pointed  to  locate  it  thought  otherwise,  and  established  their  lands 
at  Mashantuxet,  and  the  Court  ratified  their  doings  in  1666. 

So  great  was  the  dissatisfaction  of  Cassasinamon  with  this  grant 
that  he  never  occupied  it.  He  continued  his  home  at  Noank  until 
he  died  in  1692. 

Some  portion  of  his  company  occupied  and  planted  lands  at  Ma 
shantuxet  soon  after  it  was  granted  to  them  ;  but  others,  with  Cas 
sasinamon,  lived  at  Noank,  and  even  after  his  death  continued  to 
reside  there  until  1712,  when  the  town  of  Groton claimed  the  Noank 
land,  and  contended  that  the  Pequots  had  no  title  to  the  same,  and 
that  the  colony  had  given  them  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  at 
Mashantuxet ;  consequently  the  Indians  were  ousted  from  their 
possessions  at  Noank,  and  reluctantly  went  to  their  inland  home. 

They  brought  a  petition  to  the  October  session  of  the  General 
Assembly  in  1713,  complaining  of  the  town  of  Groton  for  taking 
their  lands  at  Noank,  in  answer  to  which  the  General  Assembly 
ordered  that  a  survey  of  both  tracts  of  land  should  be  made  and 
returned  to  the  Assembly  the  May  following,  and  further  ordered 
that  no  one  should  interfere  with  their  hunting,  fishing  and  fowl 
ing  at  Noank. 

When  the  Assembly  met  in  1714  a  full  hearing  in  the  premises 
was  had,  which  resulted  in  an  order  that  the  Indians  must  not  oc 
cupy  Noank  any  longer,  but  should  have  full  liberty  to  improve  the 
Mashantuxet  grant  of  two  thousand  acres,  with  the  right  to  come 
to  the  salt  water  upon  Noank  neck,  for  clamming,  fishing  and  fowl 
ing  purposes,  as  theretofore. 

These  early  grants  by  the  colony  to  the  Indians  were  not  consid 
ered  as  conveying  to  them  the  fee  simple  thereof,  which  of  course 


20 

remained  in  the  colony,  and  which  by  the  several  patents  subse 
quently  issued  by  the  colony  passed  to  the  towns  or  proprietors 
thereof. 

So  the  town  of  Groton,  in  1719,  voted  to  divide  their  commons, 
reserving  to  the  Indians  lands  at  Mashantuxet  to  live  on,  and  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  carry  said  vote  into  effect,  who,  in  1720, 
gave  them  a  deed  of  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
acres,  at  Mashantuxet,  reserving  the  herbage  for  the  said  proprie 
tors,  who  brought  a  petition  to  the  General  Assembly  in  1732  for  a 
final  determination  of  all  matters  in  controversy  between  them  and 
the  Indians. 

Whereupon  a  committee  was  appointed,  which  came  to  Groton, 
and  after  hearing  all  parties  concerned,  reported  that  the  Indians 
at  Mashantuxet  consisted  of  sixty-six  males,  from  fourteen  years 
and  upwards,  a  large  part  of  which  lived  with  their  English  neigh 
bors,  and  that  the  Indians  do  not  require  all  the  lands  previously 
granted  them,  and  that  the  west  half  of  the  reservation  or  common 
should  be  laid  out  in  fifty-acre  lots,  and  the  proprietors  allowed  to 
fence  them,  so  as  to  secure  their  herbage  and  the  Indians  their 
corn  and  apple  trees,  and  the  proprietors  be  allowed  to  clear  the 
said  lots,  leaving  ten  acres  of  forest  on  each  lot  of  fifty  acres  for 
fire  wood  for  the  Indians,  with  liberty  for  them  to  remove  their 
planting  to  other  lots  once  in  three  years  if  they  desire,  leaving  the 
other  half  of  the  lands  unsurveyed  and  unfenced  as  formerly. 

The  report  was  accepted  and  allowed,  with  this  condition,  "  that 
the  liberty  granted  to  the  proprietors  to  fence  said  lands  shall  con 
tinue  no  longer  than  this  Assembly  shall  think  proper." 

This  act  of  the  Assembly  did  not  satisfy  the  expectations  of  the 
Indians,  who  repeatedly  complained  of  encroachments  on  their  lots 
by  the  English,  who  really  secured  the  lion's  share  of  their  pro 
ducts. 

To  such  an  extent  were  the  Indians  defrauded,  that  the  General 
Assembly,  in  1752,  interposed  in  their  behalf,  and  summoned  the 
proprietors  of  Groton  to  show  reasons  why  the  grant  of  1732 
should  not  be  annulled,  who  appeared,  and  after  a  full  hearing  the 
Assembly  repealed  said  act. 

The  Indians  remained  in  possession  of  the  west  part  of  their 
lands  until  1761,  when  the  Assembly  granted  them  the  use  of  the 
east  part  also.  This  grant  was  made  in  consideration  of  their  ser 
vices  in  the  then  late  war  with  France. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  Pequots  of  both  reservations  entered 
the  Connecticut  forces  that  were  raised  to  join  the  expeditions 
against  Ticonderoga,  Louisburg,  and  Crown  Point,  and  suffered 
severely  in  those  campaigns. 

So  many  of  them  were  killed  in  battle  and  died  of  disease,  that 
the  women  and  children  at  home  were  well  nigh  reduced  to  starva- 
tioD.  Their  condition  was  made  known  to  the  General  Assembly  in 
1766,  by  the  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson,  then  preaching  in  Groton,  where 
upon  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Assembly  to  visit  them, 
who  repaired  to  Mashantuxet,  and  after  a  patient  examination  re 
ported  back  to  the  Assembly,  at  the  same  session,  that  there  were 
one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  of  all  ages,  a  large  part  under  the 


21 

age  of  sixteen  years,  and  widows  whose  husbands  were  killed  in 
the  late  war,  and  they  were  too  poor  to  provide  decent  clothing  for 
themselves,  in  vietf  of  which  the  Assembly  granted  them  £20. 

In  1773,  they  again  complained  of  encroachments  without  redress. 

In  1785,  they  again  asked  the  Assembly  for  protection  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  English,  which  resulted  in  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  to  fix  the  bounds  of  their  lands,  which  were  subse 
quently  established  by  the  committee. 

After  they  recovered  from  the  destitution  occasioned  by  the  loss 
of  so  many  of  their  warriors  in  the  French  war,  they  managed  to 
subsist  by  their  own  labor,  either  on  their  lands,  or  for  their  Eng 
lish  neighbors,  and  the  colony  was  not  further  burdened  with  their 
support. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Col 
onies  were  in  1650  appointed  agents  of  the  Society  for  Propagat 
ing  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians  in  New  England.  In  pursuance 
of  which,  in  1657,  they  proposed  to  Rev.  Richard  Blinman  to  be 
come  the  missionary  of  the  Pequots  and  Mohegans,  offering  him  a 
salary  of  £20  per  annum,  which  he  declined. 

The  same  year  they  employed  the  Rev.  William  Thompson,  son 
of  the  Rev.  William  Thompson,  of  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  to 
preach  to  the  Pequots,  at  a  salary  of  £20  per  annum. 

He  came  to  Southertown  in  1658,  and  began  his  labors  with  Har 
mon  Garret's  company,  and  was  assisted  by  Thomas  Stanton  as  in 
terpreter.  He  continued  to  preach  to  the  English  and  Indians  for 
about  three  years,  and  then  went  to  Virginia. 

After  this  the  Commissioners,  in  1662,  invited  the  Rev.  Abraham 
Pierson,  of  Branford,  Connecticut,  to  remove  his  habitation  to 
Southertown,  and  to  apply  himself  in  a  more  special  way  to  the 
work  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  Pequots,  but  he  declined. 

Previous  to  this,  and  in  the  year  1654,  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  Colonies,  at  the  request  of  the  Connecticut  members  there 
of,  provided  for  the  education  of  Mr.  John  Miner  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Stone,  who  was  to  fit  him  as  a  teacher  and  missionary  to  the  Pe- 
quot  Indians. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Thompson  left,  the  Commissioners,  in  1664,  in 
structed  the  Connecticut  members  to  employ  this  Mr.  John  Miner 
to  teach  the  Pequots  to  read  ;  but  whether  he  was  so  employed  or 
not  does  not  appear.  The  Commissioners  also,  in  1654,  offered,  at 
the  expense  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  to 
educate  Thomas  and  John  Stanton,  sons  of  Thomas  Stanton,  the 
Interpreter  General,  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  The  object 
was  to  fit  them  as  teachers  for  such  Indian  children  as  should  be 
taken  into  college  to  be  educated.  They  accepted  the  Commission 
ers'  offer,  and  entered  college,  but  did  not  remain  long  enough  to 
graduate,  nor  does  it  appear  that  either  of  them  was  ever  engaged 
in  teaching  the  Indians. 

The  efforts  of  the  English  to  civilize  and  christianize  the  Pequots 
were  not  very  successful,  the  reasons  for  which  may  be  more  easily 
imagined  than  described.  The  agents  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society  did  not  wholly  neglect  them,  for  as  late  as  1766  they  em 
ployed  Mr.  Hugh  Sweatingham  to  teach  the  Pequots,  at  their 


22 

schoolhouse  at  Mashantuxet,  at  £12  per  annum.  They  also  em 
ployed  Mr.  Jacob  Johnson  to  preach  to  them  at  5s.  8d.  per  sermon. 

The  Assembly,  in  1766,  granted  Mr.  Johnson  £5  for  his  labors, 
and  Mr.  Sweatingham  £4  for  his  services.  During  the  great 
awakening  of  the  18th  century,  and  for  a  long  time  before  and  af 
ter,  the  more  peaceable  attended  the  religious  services  of  the  Eng 
lish,  and  some  were  baptized  and  united  with  their  churches.  But 
they  were  mostly  females,  who  worked  for  and  lived  in  the  families 
of  the  whites.  Now  and  then  some  stern  old  Pequot  captain 
would  own  the  Christian  covenant,  and  try  to  live  up  to  the  half 
way  communion. 

It  will  also  be  remembered,  that  the  Commissioners  at  first  at 
tempted  to  carry  out  the  policy  of  merging  the  Pequots  with  the 
Mohegans  and  Narragansetts.  They  at  first  refused  to  permit  the 
remaining  Pequots  to  be  relieved  of  the  tyranny  of  Uncas  ;  but  af 
ter  their  connection  with  the  London  Missionary  Society,  they 
adopted  a  different  policy,  and  gradually  favored  the  Pequots. 

They  exerted  themselves  to  secure  permanent  homes  for  them, 
with  ample  lands,  and  then  labored  to  furnish  them  with  religious 
instruction.  But  the  colonies  preferred  to  hold  and  treat  the  In 
dians  as  wards,  subject  at  any  time  to  their  control ;  keeping  the 
fee  of  their  lands  in  the  colony,  and  giving  them  only  the  use  there 
of  ;  which  policy  has  been  pursued  by  our  State  ever  since,  except 
with  the  Mohegan  Indians,  who,  by  law  enacted  in  1872  and  1873, 
had  the  rights  of  citizenship  bestowed  upon  them,  and  their  lands 
set  out  to  them  in  severalty  as  an  absolute  estate  in  fee  simple. 

So  it  appears  that  the  descendants  of  Uncas  and  the  Mohegans 
have  been  more  kindly  treated  in  these  later  days  than  the  de 
scendants  of  the  Pequots.  The  services  of  the  Mohegans  in  our 
early  Indian  wars  have  been  recognized  by  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  which  appropriated  for  their  benefit  a  large  sum  of 
money. 

These  Pequot  reservations,  though  located  in  the  ancient  towns 
of  Groton  and  Stonington,  were  less  than  a  mile  apart,  with  two 
small  lakes  or  ponds  between  them ;  each  reservation  had  its  vil 
lage,  called  "  Indian  town,"  which  consisted  at  first  of  a  cluster  of 
wigwams  built  in  the  Indian  fashion. 

By-and-by  framed  houses  came  into  vogue,  and  the  old  wigwams 
passed  away.  The  reservation  at  Mashantuxet  was  by  far  the  larg 
est,  and  the  Indians  more  numerous  than  the  tribe  at  Lantern 
Hill.  It  was  proposed  at  first  to  give  Cassasinamon's  company  two 
thousand  acres  at  Mashantuxet,  but  when  surveyed  by  the  town  it 
amounted  to  only  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
acres. 

The  subsequent  controversies  with  the  English  had  the  effect  of 
reducing  the  area  of  this  reservation.  After  the  English  ejected 
the  Indians  from  the  Noank  lands,  the  town  of  Groton  divided  the 
same  between  the  inhabitants  thereof  equally. 

They  were  subsequently  surveyed  and  divided  into  lots,  and 
assigned  by  lottery  to  the  proprietors.  Notwithstanding  that  the 
bounds  of  these  lands  were  established  in  1785,  no  accurate  survey 
of  them  was  made  until  1793,  which  was  preserved,  and  when  the 


23 

Legislature  of  1855  ordered  a  survey  and  sale  of  a  part  thereof  by 
a  committee  to  be  appointed  by  the  County  Court  of  New  London 
county,  all  that  was  found  remaining  of  the  original  two  thousand 
acres  by  said  committee  was  a  trifle  less  than  nine  hundred  acres. 

Under  this  authority,  seven  hundred  and  thirteen  acres  were  sold 
at  public  auction,  bringing  about  seven  thousand  dollars,  which  is 
now  held  by  the  overseer  of  that  tribe  for  their  benefit,  or  such  as 
may  need  support. 

The  reservation  at  Lantern  Hill  has  not  been  reduced  since  Wil 
liams  and  Crary  were  assigned  in  compromise  settlement  of  their 
claims  two  small  strips  on  the  south  and  east  sides. 

The  Legislature,  in  1873,  ordered  the  overseer  to  survey  and  sell 
all  of  this  reservation  but  one  hundred  acres,  and  invest  the  avails 
thereof  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians.  But  owing  to  the  great  de 
pression  in  real  estate,  nothing  has  been  done  in  the  premises. 

It  is  well  nigh  impossible  to  ascertain  at  the  present  time  how 
many  Pequots  belong  to,  or  have  an  interest  in,  these  reservations. 
The  Indian  towns  of  the  olden  time  have  run  down  to  two  small 
houses  on  each  reservation,  which  are  now  occupied  by  four  fami 
lies.  How  many  are  living  elsewhere  cannot  be  determined. 

So,  after  two  hundred  and  thirty  nine  years  since  the  conquest 
of  Mason,  only  a  small  remnant  remains  of  the  once  powerful  and 
haughty  Pequots.  No  one  can  defend  the  horrible  tortures  that 
they  inflicted  upon  the  English  who  fell  into  their  hands  as  prison 
ers.  Their  overthrow  by  Mason  humbled  their  pride,  and  so  far 
subdued  them  that  ever  afterwards  they  were  the  friends  of  the 
English.  They  joined  our  forces  in  King  Philip's  war,  and  in  the 
great  swamp  fight  in  1675  performed  prodigies  of  valor  under  Gal 
lup  and  Avery.  During  the  French  war,  they  voluntarily  joined 
the  expeditions  that  were  raised  to  repel  the  invasions  of  the  French 
and  northern  Indians. 

But  who  can  successfully  defend  all  of  the  acts  of  the  English 
towards  the  Pequots,  especially  after  they  had  yielded  to  their 
authority,  and  became  subservient  to  their  power  ?  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  that  the  English  failed  in  their  efforts  to  christianize 
the  Pequots. 

The  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies,  and  nearly  all  of  the 
clergymen  of  New  England,  made  praiseworthy  efforts  to  afford  the 
Indians  religious  instruction.  But,  after  all,  the  treatment  that  the 
Pequots  received  from  the  authorities  acting  under  the  Colonies  of 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  in  the  assignment  of  lands  for  their 
benefit,  and  in  other  matters,  was  so  unjust  and  oppressive,  that  it 
well  nigh  outweighed  every  consideration  that  was  urged  upon 
them  by  Elliott  and  his  co-workers  to  effect  their  conversion,  and 
make  them  believe  in  the  white  man's  God. 

Most  of  the  Pequot  warriors  preferred  the  favor  of  their  Good 
Spirit  Kritchian,  and  died  believing  that  in  the  beautiful  southwest 
land  were  hunting  grounds  of  boundless  extent,  and  game  of  end 
less  variety,  where  no  Hobomoke  could  charm  the  arrow  from  its 
fatal  plunge,  nor  mar  their  happiness  in  the  Indian's  summer  land. 

&.  B.  &  J.  H.   Utter,  Steam  Printers,   Westerly,  JR.  L 


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